TROY HARVEY/THE STAR
An outside view of Cafe Nouveau on the corner of East Thompson Boulevard and Chrisman Avenue in Ventura.

Ventura County Star

One year ago this week, a fire ripped through Cafe Nouveau, ruining much of its kitchen. When the popular midtown Ventura restaurant reopened 10 months later, patrons cheered its return.

Some who live in the neighborhood — specifically, Chrisman Avenue — were not as enthusiastic.

The restaurant is at Thompson Boulevard and Chrisman, but it might as well be the corner of Discontent and Strife.

Residents say diners park on the street in front of their homes with no regard to the area around them. They loiter on the sidewalk or ignore it altogether as they crisscross carefully kept yards. On the way in and out, they speed through the narrow street.

Owners of the restaurant have done too little to let customers know there is plenty of parking outside Chrisman, residents say.

The restaurateurs say residents don’t own the parking off Chrisman. If their patrons carry conversations into the streets, they are the type to look out for landscaping. They ask how customers could speed on Chrisman if they’re driving on the street to find parking.

Meetings between the sides, facilitated by city officials, have failed to find a solution acceptable to both parties.

“On the weekends, it just becomes a parking lot. It becomes dangerous for us to come out of our driveways,” resident Bill Zawacki said. “They’ve just grown, and unfortunately, it’s become a problem for us.”

Tes Wolf, who with her husband, Carlos Acevez, owns Cafe Nouveau, said they have tried to ease the situation. They spent $500 for signs outside their property and on the cover of their menu directing customers to a city-owned lot, posted parking alternatives on Facebook and made sure employees avoid parking on Chrisman.

“We’re sympathetic, and we want people to park on Thompson and in the parking lot,” Wolf said. “But when it comes right down to it, it’s legal to park (on Chrisman).”

City officials have tried to help.

To ease parking in the area, the city returned Thompson to two lanes northbound in the months before the Feb. 18 fire, a move that opened up several spots. In preparation for the restaurant’s reopening, the city late last year added a solar-powered crosswalk and made its lot on the other side of Chrisman available.

Resident Ken DeBone said the owners have not stuck to their end of the bargain by telling customers about other parking options.

DeBone said he and others “polled” customers to see whether they had been told about other places to park and for the most part found the answer was no.

“We really are concerned about the neighbors adversely impacting our businesses,” Wolf said. “Some of them have become a lot more aggressive.”

Last weekend, Wolf said, one neighbor passed out fliers asking people not to park on Chrisman, and another approached customers directly, demanding to know where they had parked.

“We’ve had a couple of people that were upset about it,” she said. “Our stand is: We’ve tried to be good neighbors and point to alternate parking, but as long as there’s legal parking, I don’t think they need to be harassed.”

Wolf said some customers, particularly older ones or those with physical limitations, don’t feel comfortable parking on busy Thompson or can’t walk from the lot about a block away.

The city continues to receive calls from residents concerned about the parking problem, Community Services Manager Peter Brown said.

“There are some in the neighborhood who are dissatisfied with the parking situation and the attempt by the owners to address where people park by giving out information,” he said, adding that not all residents are upset with the restaurant.

Wolf hopes that as more people learn about the parking alternative, they avoid Chrisman. But she and other employees won’t double as police.

“I don’t feel it’s our place to tell people how to conduct themselves if they’re not breaking the law,” she said.